Saturday, January 9, 2016

A Station Near You - Closing (Sometime) Soon

MTA Will Completely Close 30 Subway Stations For Months-Long "Re-Vamp"(Gothamist)

The Prospect Av. R station is on the list, and before the planned workis complete, by 2020 (give or take several years?), it could be completely closed for a period of six to twelve months. While a renovation is certainly needed, a complete closure is likely to make for slow & uncomfortable travel on an already overcrowded line.

Also announced yesterday, the plan to bring Wi-Fi to the whole subway system by the end of 2016, and cell-phone service by the end of 2017. By the end of 2018 digital ticket purchases and mobile ticketing will be in use on buses and subways. Metrocards are on the way out.

Wi-Fi & cell service is inevitable I guess, but system-wide access will mean more screen-zombie activity, and more extraneous cell-phone conversation. I like the subway and buses as places to read (paper) and observe the miniature dramas of transit life. I waste enough time online as it is, and for me, venturing out and about without the constant self-absorption of screen-attachment is the only way to live in the city completely.